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The efficient n-doping of [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester by leuco-crystal violet to enhance the performance of inverted organic solar cells

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Abstract

Inverted organic solar cells (OSCs) have been fabricated using the photoactive blend thin films based on regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), and leuco-crystal violet (LCV). It was found that the LCV as an efficient n-dopant could significantly increase intrinsic electron concentration of PCBM zone. The electron mobility of P3HT:PCBM:LCV blend thin film was measured 1.75 times as high as that of P3HT:PCBM blend thin film, as a result of LCV-induced trap filling in the bandgap of PCBM. The power conversion efficiency for the inverted device using the photoactive layer of P3HT:PCBM:LCV could be 1.22 times as high as that for the inverted device using the conventional photoactive layer of P3HT:PCBM, mostly because (1) the higher electron mobility could enhance the exciton dissociation and thereby short-circuit current density in the former relative to the latter; (2) the increase in the electron concentration of PCBM zone in P3HT:PCBM:LCV blend thin film may help blocking holes diffusion towards cathode, improving the hole collection efficiency and thereby fill factor of device. We provide a new insight on optimizing the electron-conducting property of bulk-heterojunction photoactive thin film, useful for pushing forward inverted OSCs towards the cost-effective commercialization.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the financial supports from Natural Science Foundation of Hebei province (Grant no. E2013202119) and also thank Dr. Haibo Wang for the UPS measurements and Prof. Xiaowei Zhan for the EQE measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, 300130, People’s Republic of China

    Li Chen, Wei Zhao, Huan Cao, Zhihua Shi & Dashan Qin

  2. State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, Jilin, People’s Republic of China

    Jidong Zhang

Authors
  1. Li Chen
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  2. Wei Zhao
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  3. Huan Cao
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  4. Zhihua Shi
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Correspondence to Jidong Zhang or Dashan Qin.

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Chen, L., Zhao, W., Cao, H. et al. The efficient n-doping of [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester by leuco-crystal violet to enhance the performance of inverted organic solar cells. Appl. Phys. A 124, 176 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-018-1575-8

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